T HE A RTICLES OF C ONFEDERATION Creating a New Government Chapter 5 Section 1

S TATE G OVERNMENTS AND C ONSTITUTIONS Most of the 13 states wrote their own constitutions during the Revolution Each state government had three branches Legislative branch – the branch that made the laws Judicial branch – the branch that interpreted the laws Executive branch – the governor – carried out the laws The states wanted to limit the governors’ powers

S TATE C ONSTITUTIONS Republicanism Most had strong governors with veto power Most had bicameral legislatures Property was required for voting Some had universal white male suffrage Most had bills of rights Many had a continuation of state-established religions while others disestablished religion

R EPUBLICANISM Americans did not want a king or any other supreme authority over them They wanted a republic – rule with the “consent of the governed” Hard working, property owning citizens would be active in government

R EPUBLICAN M OTHERHOOD Women had the first opportunity to educate children in civic virtues and responsibilities Encouraged mothers to: Raise sons to become patriotic, future leaders Raise daughters to be intelligent, patriotic, and competent so they could run households and educate their own children

A N EW N ATIONAL G OVERNMENT A central government was needed for America Needed to carry on the war Needed to make agreements with foreign governments

T HE A RTICLES OF C ONFEDERATION Document established a Confederation – an association of independent, sovereign states with certain common goals Congress adopts the Articles in November 1777

P OWERS OF THE N EW G OVERNMENT The states kept most of their power under the Confederation The document provided only for a weak national government The national government only had a legislative branch: the Continental Congress Each state only had one vote in Congress (regardless of population)

P OWERS OF THE N EW G OVERNMENT Congress’ Powers: Establish national policies Conduct foreign relations (including relations with Native Americans) Borrow and coin money Set up post offices Establish an army and declare war

W EAKNESSES OF THE A RTICLES OF C ONFEDERATION A unicameral Congress – 9 of 13 votes to pass law and 13 out of 13 to amend a law Very difficult for Congress to get anything done Representatives were frequently absent Could not tax or raise armies Congress had no way of making money so they could not pay back massive war debts No executive or judicial branches There was no national court system Congress could not settle disputes between states States sometimes refused to recognize laws in other states

P ROBLEMS WITH F OREIGN N ATIONS Without a strong national government, the US had trouble taking advantage of the land they won in the 1783 Treaty of Paris British continue to occupy forts in the Great Lakes region Native Americans help the British and keep American settlers out of parts of the Northwest Territory

P ROBLEMS WITH F OREIGN N ATIONS Congress had trouble with Spain about the right to travel on the Mississippi River and use the Port of New Orleans Disagreements continued with Spanish about the border of Florida

T HE N ORTHWEST T ERRITORY Settlers streamed into the lands west of the Appalachians after the Revolutionary War How would these settlements be organized? The Articles of Confederation did not address the question of new states

T HE N ORTHWEST O RDINANCE OF 1787 Northwest Ordinance – meant to encourage orderly settlement and formation of new states Promised settlers religious freedom and other civil rights Slavery was not allowed in the Northwest Territory Once it had a population of 60,000 it could apply to become a state One of the major accomplishments of the Confederation Congress!